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You are hereFact sheet: Germany’s ratification of key instrument on the rights of the child

Fact sheet: Germany’s ratification of key instrument on the rights of the child

Feb 28, 2013

Today, Germany’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Peter Wittig, deposited the instrument of ratification for the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Germany has taken a variety of measures to promote the goals of the Third Optional Protocol. It actively supported negotiations and co- sponsored the resolution at the Human Rights Council, by which the optional protocol was adopted.

When the protocol opened for signature in 2012, Germany was among its first signatories. The German government’s strong commitment to protecting children's rights is illustrated by the speedy ratification which involved all legislative instances.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning a Communications Procedure is the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Germany has also ratified the Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict. After Thailand and Gabon, Germany is now the third State Party to the Protocol on individual complaints. The Protocol will enter into force upon ratification by ten states and will enable children to submit a complaint to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva if their rights have been violated by the state. This is on the condition that the case has been through the national courts. The Committee on the Rights of the Child may then make recommendations to the state concerned.

Human Rights and International Law

Respect for and expansion of human rights is a central focus of the policies of the German Government. German human rights policy in international relations follows a clear obligation: protecting people from violations of their rights and basic freedoms.